The present invention is related to binary logic circuits. More specifically, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for reducing critical speed path delays in binary logic circuits.
The logic designer is commonly faced with the task of designing a complex logic circuit to generate a specific output signal in response to a plurality of input signals. Conventional practice of logic design includes the generation of a truth table for the desired inputs and outputs, the use of a Karnaugh map or a Boolean minimization to generate a set of product terms of inputs for each desired output, and the realization of the product terms in the form of physical logic gates in a combination logic circuit.
The above-described approach to logic design is generally concerned with minimizing the number of logic gates required to realize a physical implementation of truth table. As the number of desired input signals increases, however, complex combinational logic solutions to the truth table generated by the above-described approach result in increased signal propagation times which cause unacceptable delays in the formation of an output signal. This is especially true when speed is a primary design consideration, as is the case in RISC processor technology.
The inputs to the logic circuit can be characterized as either critical speed inputs or non-critical speed inputs. Critical speed inputs are usually those inputs which are valid at a later point in time than the non-critical inputs. Thus, the logic path requiring the critical speed inputs is the slowest logic path of the logic circuit and can be referred to as the critical speed path. A reduction in propagation delay associated with the critical speed would therefore result in an faster output response for the logic circuit, and the ability to operate the logic circuits at faster clock rates.